


One In A Million

by mvernet



Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Gambling in the Lottery, M/M, Pre-Slash, Prompt Gamble, Sentinel Thursday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 15:57:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19321393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mvernet/pseuds/mvernet
Summary: Blair buys a Lotto ticket.





	One In A Million

“Hey Jim. Put on channel five for me. I want to watch that one minute State Lottery show that’s on at eleven forty-five. I’ve got a winner right here.”

 

Jim was relaxing after a grueling day. It took too much energy to click the remote in response to Blair’s simple request, but Jim was always up for some Blair baiting.

 

“I see how it is. You’ll gamble away your money on a lottery ticket, but you never seem to have enough money to buy coffee.”

 

Blair plopped down on the couch balancing two mugs of fresh brew and a plate of peanut butter cookies. He handed a steaming mug to Jim and placed the Blair-made dessert on the coffee table. Jim eyed the delicious treats, but he would have to lean forward to get at them. He decided to wait till the coffee kicked in. “Come on, Big Guy,” Blair said around his mouthful of cookie crumbs, “I bought the last batch. I can’t help it you go through coffee gallons at a time.”

 

“Your last batch was ‘borrowed’ from Simon’s stash. I recognized the aroma.”

 

“Yeah, well. Simon will never miss it. I just took some of the opened stuff hanging out in the back of the cabinet. It was going stale.”

 

“Chief, you broke into that cabinet. I could arrest you for breaking and entering! I’d cuff you, but my cuffs are waaaay over there.” Jim waved the hand with the remote attached lazily towards his jacket by the door.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Promises. Promises,” Blair said cheekily with an accompanying sultry look. “Anyway, I never play Lotto, but I found a dollar in the gutter outside of Dollar Tree. It was kismet, serendipity, and the freakin’ jackpot was 485 million this week. That is an obscene amount of money, man. You gotta be in it to win it, you know?”

 

Jim sipped his coffee and muttered, “Wow, Chief. What would you even do with that much money?” Jim was starting to get interested so he surfed over to channel five. They had five minutes to go until Blair would know if he was a multi-millionaire.

 

“Man. I hadn’t really thought about it. Well, I’d pay you what I owe you for room and board all these years, and pay off my student loans. Maybe get the Volvo restored.”

 

“Chief, you could do all that if you just got a real job.”

 

Blair snorted into his coffee. “Or if CPD paid me to work with you.”

 

Jim leaned forward, put down his coffee and snagged a cookie. “You need to think bigger, with that much capital you wouldn’t need to work or be a teaching fellow. Rainier would probably give you your PHD, if you submitted it on a napkin from Wonderburger.”

 

“Not work at all? I… I don’t know. I love working with you. You need me. And I love to teach. I couldn’t leave my students half-way through the year.”

 

“Chief, you are a riot. Do you ever think a selfish thought? You could do anything. Live anywhere. Buy a yacht, buy a fleet of yachts. Buy a villa in Italy or a chalet in Switzerland. Better yet travel, stay in first class hotels and see the seven wonders of the world.”

 

“Travel? Move out? Leave the loft… and you?” Blair put down his coffee mug and scowled at the ticket in his hand as if it was an evil villain plotting to take over his world.

 

Jim wondered what he had said to make his partner look so depressed. If Blair did win millions, wouldn’t it make him happy? Then the reality hit him. Blair would move out, even if they stayed partners, Blair wouldn’t be… his alone anymore. The lottery show came on and Jim turned up the volume so Blair could hear. He found himself selfishly wishing that Blair would lose. He hated the thought of losing Blair.

 

The overly cheerful, actress wannabe called out the numbers on the bouncing ping pong balls. Jim watched Blair carefully, he tuned into his heartbeat. Blair’s heart raced, quicker with each number read. A smile curled at his lips, growing into a brilliant grin as the final winning number was repeated. 

 

Jim swallowed the lump already starting to form in his throat. His own heart broke with each excited beat of Blair’s. Jim couldn’t wait another painful moment.

 

“Chief?”

 

Blair looked at Jim with delight and love shining in his eyes. Blair shook his head enthusiastically, his curls flying. “No, nada, zilch, zero, not one number. I just gambled away my last dollar. Guess you’re stuck with me.”

 

Jim reached over and ruffled those curls. Relief flooding his mind and making him grin too.

 

“You’re one in a million, Sandburg.”


End file.
